UN Security

[K] They’ve put me through three different security trainings, and counting. The first day, before visiting the Nahr el Barad Camp, I had a short briefing that I thought was all I needed. It included instruction in identifying UXOs, that’s unexploded ordnance, and what to do if I should find any (tell the Army). I had no idea what a big deal it was that I was allowed to visit the refugee camp that first day without passing the Basic Security Training and Advanced Security Training Courses, and getting supplied with a cell phone and VHF radio. I spent the next two days in the Beirut office getting those things done.

The training courses are computer-based and interactive. They are really well done, and apparently used for UN staff all over the world. They cover safety of all types, and include car and convoy travel, hotels, survival techniques, and assorted tips like don’t use cell phones near a suspected bomb…

In the UNRWA offices (in the Quality Inn in Tripoli about 10 miles away from the camp; the old offices are inaccessible), one has to sign in and out of the office and say you are going, and when in the camp, one has to keep in radio contact every 30 minutes. I was given a list of radio abbreviations for the different locations. I still have yet to take a more detailed radio training. Should you wish to dial me up on your VHF radio, just call me Bravo William 936.

What a gig

[Tom]

Now that I am firmly ensconced in my position as a special education teacher in an international school I have time to write. The school is not a typical international school in that most of the students are Lebanese, and rich Lebanese at that. The school has a mix of Christian, Sunni, and Shia. A lot of foreign embassies that allow families to accompany their employees send their kids to the school. America does not allow embassy employed families to live here.

The job itself is different than any I have had. It is more of a learning support position rather than providing services just for students with learning disabilities. The elementary school, where I work, is an excellent environment in which to work. The principal is strong, honest, and fair. I really enjoy the little ones.

The school is just a block from the Corniche and the Mediterranean. The Corniche is a seaside walkway that is beautiful to walk down. The school has about 950 students K-12. I understand that the environment in the middle school and especially the high school is chaotic and suffers from a lack of positive leadership. I feel lucky. In all I am having fun and learning a lot. I feel what I have to say is heard and acted upon. We are truly enjoying ourselves.

Nahr el Barad

My first day of work at UNWRA, I got to visit Nahr el Barad and Beddawi refugee camps. Nahr el Barad is the one that was completely destroyed by fighting earlier this year between a Palestinian splinter group and the Lebanese Army. It is also where I’ll be working, eventually. For now, there are so few standing buildings that the UNRWA office is in a hotel in Tripoli, about 15 minutes drive away.

Ninety percent of the camp was destroyed, displacing 30,000 people, most of whom fled to the already overcrowded Beddawi camp, about 10 miles away. Others took refuge in schools and mosques.

A recent article in The Guardian describing the camp, says: “Most of the large apartment buildings at the camp have been shredded to their foundations, […buckled] under the weight of giant floor slabs, others collapsed entirely…Bullet holes pepper every face of the ruined landscape… Many walls have been blown away to reveal gutted houses, with charred, splintered furniture dangling over the mess below… The wreckage of luxury cars, now burnt and twisted, recall the prosperity enjoyed by some in Nahr el Barad before the siege…” People who had lived here for many years, were allowed to take only one bag with them when they left.

After the fighting stopped, the looting began. There is nothing left. The Lebanese Army, after checking houses for unexploded ordnance, often blew up the houses.

Before reconstruction can begin, almost 1,000,000 square yards of rubble need to be removed, which will cost $10 million. Fortunately, international donors responded to an emergency appeal and funds are available.

Only 1,000 families have been allowed to return. But they have returned to terribly substandard housing. A contractor hired to build a new six storey apartment block has not gotten windows installed in three of the floors, in December, after months of work. The roof leaks, sending water all the way down to the first floor. I could see cracks between the cinder block walls of the new building. At least, after our visit, heavy plastic, hammers and nails were ordered to be immediately provided for those apartments without windows.

In another area of the camp, residents in some hastily constructed dwellings complained of flooding and no hot water. What they didn’t complain about, or what I didn’t hear, were complaints of schools yet to open for their children, no jobs for the adults, and, of course, no future.

Reconstruction is painfully slow. In order to be accountable to donors, there is a strict procurement process: 1) create budget, 2) get it approved, 3) put items needed up for bid, 4) wait for contractors to bid, 5) get bank guarantees for contractors, 6) evaluate bids at the main office (Beirut), 7) get signatures on contracts, 8) mobilize contractors. And then, as seen in the leaky roofs, monitor every step of the way.

There is money approved to build 1500 temporary houses, but the Lebanese government has not made any land available; the army wants the refugees to stay in a confined area, so land choices are very limited.

The camp borders the Mediterranean, along which I will travel an hour each day to work.

***

In a MUCH lighter vein, here are some signs I have seen along the way and around Beirut:

• Internet Romance Cave (just outside Beddawi Camp)
• Gentle Bag
• Nails and roots (a beauty shop, of course)
• Look and Like
• Rocky Nuts
• I believe in Bata [shoes] Noel

And a fave: the headquarters of Electricite du Liban, with almost half the neon letters dark.


P.S. Still no president!!

Tripoli, and Lebanon update

We were hoping to go to Syria for Thanksgiving weekend but our visas didn't come through in time.

Aleppo it ain’t, but we had a nice overnight excursion to Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city. We took a minibus 1 ½ hours north of Beirut, along the coast. Wider streets, some even tree-lined. Less chaotic and crowded than Beirut. More Arabic and Moslem. Sidewalks wide enough to walk three abreast—impossible in Beirut. The only parking meters we’ve seen in Lebanon. One street reminiscent of San Francisco, with elaborately detailed three- and four-storey row houses. It had lights hung across the street, presumably for Christmas (a holiday celebrated by many non-Christians worldwide). Tripoli's old city dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and has a great souk (covered shopping) area, adjacent to the Grand Mosque, dating from 1294, and distinctive in alternating black and sand colored stones.

The citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles sits atop a hill, towering over downtown and the port. The original castle was built in 1102, but has been burnt down on several occasions, beginning in 1289. We climbed up several winding sets of stairs to reach it. There is no longer any admission charge, and while apparently still open to the public it has become, once again, an army/police outpost. A nice camou-clad soldier offered me his hand to help me up a steep spot, and a police officer showed us a few points of interest, including a 19th century elevator and a dark staircase that went down, down, down, farther than any of us, including him, wished to go.

As we looked out over the city we could see flocks of pigeons circling, being exerciesed by their keepers. We have seen this too, in Beirut, but not from such a marveous vantage pooint. The sun was setting into the sea, and behind us, the full moon was rising...

Later we had a nice mezze meal (sans arak--no alcohol can be served within a considerable distance of a mosque in this town). We stayed in a hotel that was essentailly four bedrooms of a family home on the second floor. The next day, as we left, the very nice lady running the place presented us with spinach pastries hot from the oven...

*******************
Back in Beirut, we found emails from concerned friends in the US, worried about us and curious what will become of us if war breaks out. Things are calm—streets are filled with regular daily comings and goings, all the shops are open and full of people and all the usual things for sale, the ubiquitous construction projects (both new construction and rehabbing old buildings) goes on, seven days a week. There is still much hope that peace will continue to prevail. The president's term has expired and the army is now more or less in control. The army commander is well respected by all and the army itself is not feared. Here is Tom’s summary of the situation: It is at an impasse. There is no president and we are still waiting for an agreement on a candidate everyone can support. The big problem is that egos get in the way.

Should the situation deteriorate and violence break out, we would be evacuated, by sea. We are about 10 blocks from the Mediterranean, and this part of town is very unlikely to be a hot spot. It is nice to know we wouldn't have to go through town to get to the airport. Last year when the Israelis bombed Beirut, Americans boarded some kind of boat and were taken to a U.S. military base in Turkey, and flown to Atlanta a few days later.

Election drama

Here are today’s headlines from a local online news source (www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf):

• March 14 [Anti-Syrian Christian/Sunni faction] No to Aoun's [Maronite Christian] Proposal and for Presidential Elections
• Erdogan Calls Assad over Lebanon [that’s the Prime Minister of Turkey calling the President of Syria]
• Hariri [March 14 faction] fails to convince Aoun of Concensus Candidate Following Phone Call by [French President] Sarkozy
• Verbal Quarrel Between Aoun and Berri [Shiite head of parliament]
• Foreign Envoys in Last-Minute Talks in Hopes of Salvaging Presidential Elections
• Lahoud [lame duck president that nobody likes, pro-Syrian]: Remnant of Syrian Hegemony
• U.N. Chief Fears 'Confrontation' if No Lebanon Agreement Reached
• Russia Hopes Lebanon Will Elect New President
• Rice to Syria: Better Ties with U.S. for Free Lebanon Elections
• MP Franjieh [also March 14 faction]: A New Era in the Region if Presidential Elections Fail

But it's a bright and sunny day in Beirut...

Stormy weather, and waiting

Dramatic thunder storms are such a fitting backdrop to the political turmoil in which the country is embroiled. The election has been postponed until Friday, the last possible day the current president can stay in office. Major international diplomatic efforts continue, notably by French, Arab League and, now, Russian governments. Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary-General, warns we are "on the edge of an abyss."

A bizarre bit of news: a strong hail storm in the south caused a number of unexploded cluster bombs to go off, miraculously hurting no one.

We had hoped to go to Syria for the four day weekend, but our visas have not yet been approved though some other ACS teachers have received theirs. Is it some other Tom Moore, bad guy, who keeps our good one on the no-fly list? Is it Cam and I, rabid Quakers? Or maybe Ben (we applied for one for him too, so we can visit Damascus when he comes next month), State Dept. lackey?

So we are stuck in Beirut, more storms on the horizon.

Getting on in Beirut, election week

In Beirut, we find ourselves getting used to new ways. I no longer look for my car keys when I get ready to the leave the apartment, or reach for my cell phone to turn off the ringer in Meeting or a movie, having neither of these things to be concerned with. We know to flip the circuit breaker to turn the hot water on an hour before a bath. We realize how very fortunate we are to be in a building with a generator that comes on so quickly and dependably during the daily power outages. Others, even ACS teachers, do not have back up power.

The country runs on promissory notes signed to purchase fuel. Everyone is waiting, hoping, praying, banking on and nervous about the coming election. If we get through the election, people say, things might improve.

The government has been barely functional for almost a year, when opposition forces withdrew from the government and set up a tent camp outside the Parliament building, blocking access to it and to much of the downtown area. The Israeli bombing of Lebanon’s power plants last summer certainly didn’t help. (Last week Cam and I watched a documentary on the resulting oil spill and massive cleanup effort--the layer of oil left on the sea floor was literally peeled off, armful by armful, by individual divers! And legions of volunteers shoveled and raked the oil off beaches up and down the coast).

The election of a president is due to take place Wednesday (November 21st). The election isn’t a vote among the people, it’s the result of a consensus among members of Parliament; all the many factions have to agree on a Maronite Christian candidate, according to an arrangement set up in the Constitution. Some factions (notably, Hezbollah) want to change the whole system whereby certain government posts are earmarked for particular groups. And in the south (thank God not Beirut) Israeli fighter jets and drones have been flying low practically nonstop for over a week now, in defiance of international law and, no doubt, completely ignored by the US press and unknown to the US public—correct? It really adds to the tension and makes people nervous. What are they trying to say—if you can’t agree on a candidate for president we are ready for the anarchy that will result and will swoop right in and take your land and water? I just don’t get it. And then we have Syria bumping off Members of Parliament on a regular basis, most recently in September. And 90% of everybody just wants to sell grow/sell/buy their vegetables and live in peace. People are sick to death of politicians.

There has been a major flurry of diplomatic activity over the last month, with visits by the French, Spanish, and Italian foreign ministers, the US ambassador, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and others expressing support for Lebanon and urging a peaceful election process.

Besides the Israeli fly overs there are other signs of tension. On Friday Cam went to Chatila refugee camp where he is volunteering and they had arranged to take the kids out for a rare visit to a park. They were at the park only 10 minutes when word came of some fighting between factions in another camp. Parents were worried about their children and the group returned quickly to Chatila. They told Cam he should leave the camp. These are exciting times, for sure.

A powerful lightning and thunderstorm—first we’ve seen here—came through just now and at first I found myself wondering if it was thunder or bombs… But please don’t worry about us--we will be safe in this part of Beirut anyway, but what about the South and the refugee camps? And the future of this amazing country?